"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT FOLLOWING THE WORDS OF JESUS CHRIST"
John 5:14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”
John 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
John 8:11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
Some explanatory thoughts/application/questions and a prayer:
The scriptures above are taken from the same book, the Gospel of John. They involve Jesus talking with two different people. One a man, and the other a woman. The man had been healed by Jesus, and the woman had been caught in the very act of adultery. And, then some of the religious leaders brought her to Jesus to see what He would say about her, and her adultery, and how He would apply the Law of God, ( which called for her to be stoned to death) They were trying to trap Jesus, and make Him look bad ( discredit Him ) in the eyes of those who were following Him.
1. Jesus told the man to stop sinning or something worse might come upon him.
John 5:14 But afterward Jesus found him in the Temple and told him, “Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.”
Not all sickness is brought on by sin, but apparently in this man's case, it was sin that had caused him to be sick.
Jesus had healed him just a little earlier. And, now as they saw each other again, Jesus told him "so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” John 5:14
This incident was a blessing, an explanation, and a warning. Jesus blessed the man by healing him. Jesus also explained, without giving the detail of the particular sin, but stating very clearly, that it was this man's sin that had made him sick. Sin can lead to all kinds of sickness. Both physical and spiritual. Sin is a powerful destroyer of men's lives.
And, this incident is one of warning. Jesus had blessed him by healing him, explained to him why had become sick, and now gives him a good warning, designed to help him in the future. ""so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you.” John 5:14 God knows what is right and what is wrong. He knows what is best for us, and He knows what will hurt us. Sin will hurt our lives, that is certain. Warnings are often disregarded, and we don't know if this man took Jesus's warning to heart or not. I hope for his sake he did. I do know, that you and I can either ignore or take heed to the warnings of God. Let's pray that we take heed. God wants to keep us from hurting ourselves.
2. Jesus told this nameless woman John 8:11 “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
The woman had been caught by some religious leaders in the very act of adultery and then brought to Jesus and thrown on the ground in front of Him. The leaders were trying to trap Jesus, by seeing how He would apply the law which called for her to be stoned to death. They thought that if He said go ahead and stone her, it would make Him look cruel and mean in the eyes of His followers. Or, if He avoided applying the law, they thought it would make Him look as if He had no regard for the Law, and therefore discredit Him in the eyes of the people.
John 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
This verse comes at the end of Jesus kneeling down on the ground and writing things on the sand in front of the men. We don't know what He wrote, but the scripture says, John 8:9 Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.
Then we have these two verses
John 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”
John 8:11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”
There are two things here to consider.
(1) Jesus did not condemn her, nor does He condemn you. John 3:17 “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. And, for those in Christ, here's what we are told in Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
(2) Jesus also told the woman to "go and sin no more" Clearly she had sinned. But, here is Jesus not condemning her, but giving her Godly instruction, and the best counsel a person can get, "go and sin no more"
Don't repeat the sin that you have just committed. Stop it. Of course, we can not do this on our own, but with God's help, He can work in our lives to help us not to sin. We will never be sinless this side of eternity, but we can be by His grace, sinning "less and less" May it be so Lord, may it be so.
A few questions:
1. What stands out to you in both of these incidents?
2. What is God saying to You as you read these Scriptures?.
3. What might you say to the Lord right now after reading this devotional?.
4. Wouldn't you agree that our God is so gracious, loving and caring?.
5. Would you please take a moment to just talk to the Lord right now and thank Him for who He is.
A prayer:
Lord, what a wonderful and gracious God You are. Thank You for telling us the truth about life, and thank You for not casting us away when we sin, but rather, teaching us what to do, and what not to do. Your ways are right and true. May we walk in them this day, in Jesus name, amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
